53 reviews
Interesting, much underrated film
"Secret Ceremony" was critically lambasted on its release - undeservedly so. Having come on the heels of another Elizabeth Taylor/Joseph Losey collaboration - the truly awful "Boom" - I suppose the critics were sharpening their knives again.
Admittedly, "Secret Ceremony" is probably an acquired taste. I first saw it on network TV in its mutilated form, with new non-Losey scenes filmed to supposed "explain" what was happening. Nevertheless, what remained of the original film was good enough that I sought out the uncut original.
The story is bizarre but consistently intriguing, and the Taylor/Farrow combination works. Taylor is very good in this film; I think it's one of her best performances (her scene at the very end is excellent). I highly recommend this film for those with eclectic, adventurous tastes.
Admittedly, "Secret Ceremony" is probably an acquired taste. I first saw it on network TV in its mutilated form, with new non-Losey scenes filmed to supposed "explain" what was happening. Nevertheless, what remained of the original film was good enough that I sought out the uncut original.
The story is bizarre but consistently intriguing, and the Taylor/Farrow combination works. Taylor is very good in this film; I think it's one of her best performances (her scene at the very end is excellent). I highly recommend this film for those with eclectic, adventurous tastes.
Oddball Thriller
It's hard to find words to describe Secret Ceremony. It's definitely a film that you'd be surprised the likes of Taylor, Farrow, and Mitchum would be interested in being a part of, but their commitment to the material is admirable.
Taylor plays a homeless who has a chance encounter with a creepy young woman played by Farrow who stalks her because she reminds her of her dead mother. Luckily for Farrow, she reminds Taylor of her dead daughter and the two start living together in Farrow's mansion. Needless to say, things just keep getting creepier from there.
The big issue with this film is that we don't know Taylor's character well enough to figure out why she'd ever been desperate or crazy enough to go off and live with a complete stranger, especially one as creepy and obviously disturbed as Farrow. This weak motivation makes everything that happens after it feel unearned and, frankly, boring.
There are some interesting and creepy ideas sprinkled throughout including a dollop, but it's not as interesting as it could have been.
Taylor plays a homeless who has a chance encounter with a creepy young woman played by Farrow who stalks her because she reminds her of her dead mother. Luckily for Farrow, she reminds Taylor of her dead daughter and the two start living together in Farrow's mansion. Needless to say, things just keep getting creepier from there.
The big issue with this film is that we don't know Taylor's character well enough to figure out why she'd ever been desperate or crazy enough to go off and live with a complete stranger, especially one as creepy and obviously disturbed as Farrow. This weak motivation makes everything that happens after it feel unearned and, frankly, boring.
There are some interesting and creepy ideas sprinkled throughout including a dollop, but it's not as interesting as it could have been.
- cassiewright-89520
- Feb 22, 2020
- Permalink
SECRET CEREMONY (Joseph Losey, 1968) ***
- Bunuel1976
- Jun 23, 2006
- Permalink
Haunting Classic!
After winning an Oscar for her role as the shrieking, voluptuous, vicious harridan in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?", Elizabeth Taylor felt encouraged enough to look for riskier parts where her beauty and star power were deliberately played down. In SECRET CEREMONY, she had one of her most cutting-edge, risky role as the aging, down-trodden prostitute whose little daughter drowns. She meets a strange, mad girl, Cenci (Mia Farrow) who's convinced Liz is her recently dead mother, Leonora and takes her home where both women play a game: Elizabeth becomes Leonara and Cenci has found her mother alive and well. Director Joseph Losey creates a sumptuous world where most of the action occurs in this fabulous Victorian mansion, jammed with striking lamps, toys, dolls, furniture, lighting,etc. IT all contributes to making this an A Plus horror film where madness rules. A haunting musical score, outstanding lighting and camera-work and an unforgettable wardrobe for the star all combine to make this a true cult movie--which was lambasted by critics and audiences at the time of release but has since grown in stature as a treasured art-house classic.
- jery-tillotson-1
- Jun 21, 2017
- Permalink
Mum's The Word
- writers_reign
- Jun 16, 2016
- Permalink
Taylor's vaudevillian strut appears in a quite different context in "Secret Ceremony."
- Nazi_Fighter_David
- Jun 18, 2005
- Permalink
An odd film
This is a somewhat weird psychological drama about a mentally troubled young woman (Mia Farrow) who mistakes Liz Taylor's character for her dead mother. The situation is complicated by the fact that Farrow's character also resembles Taylor's dead daughter. Though the premise is a bit contrived, it becomes a bit touching as Taylor eventually becomes protective and concerned about the girl, who is being victimized by her own family. The film does suffer from several major flaws, most notably the appearance of Robert Mitchum, painfully miscast as Farrow's lecherous stepfather. Probably one of Taylor's most daring and least embarrassing roles from this period, she also looks surprisingly good here.
- Progbear-4
- Jul 13, 1999
- Permalink
Embarrassingly awful psycho-drama
Leonora (Elizabeth Taylor) has been walking about in a haze of grief ever since her 10 year-old daughter drowned five years ago. On the way to visit the child's grave, a strange young woman named Cenci (Mia Farrow) begins following Leonora, eventually explaining that Leonora looks like Cenci's recently deceased mother. Leonora sees a certain resemblance to the woman that her daughter might have grown up to look like in Cenci, and realizing that Cenci has more than a few screws loose, the older woman decides to move into Cenci's opulent home to look after her. The two spend time in a giant bed and a giant bath tub, but Cenci's bizarre behavior continues to get worse, a situation that is exacerbated by the arrival of Cenci's lascivious stepfather Albert (Robert Mitchum).
How a movie this bizarre, one that struggles so much to be outrageous and push the new freedoms of the time in cinema, can still end up being so boring and dull, is a real testament to director Losey. Farrow is going through the wide-eyed, fragile waif period of her career, which is in full effect here. I So I mainly watched this for Mitchum, but even he's pretty terrible, with a shoddy accent that only accentuates the lurid absurdity of his "shocking" discussions of incest or measuring the sexual arousal of hamsters as they watch Jean Harlow movies (No, that's really part of the dialogue!). Turner Classic Movies timed the showing right, playing it as a TCM Underground entry, and I can see this having a fervent, if misguided, cult following thanks to the general silliness of it all. But for me it was just a boring slog of "Ooo, look how naughty we're being!" dialogue and ham-fisted psycho-babble encased in a poorly-acted waste of time. You get a lot of that in 60s movies as film shakes off the shackles of the production code era for good.
How a movie this bizarre, one that struggles so much to be outrageous and push the new freedoms of the time in cinema, can still end up being so boring and dull, is a real testament to director Losey. Farrow is going through the wide-eyed, fragile waif period of her career, which is in full effect here. I So I mainly watched this for Mitchum, but even he's pretty terrible, with a shoddy accent that only accentuates the lurid absurdity of his "shocking" discussions of incest or measuring the sexual arousal of hamsters as they watch Jean Harlow movies (No, that's really part of the dialogue!). Turner Classic Movies timed the showing right, playing it as a TCM Underground entry, and I can see this having a fervent, if misguided, cult following thanks to the general silliness of it all. But for me it was just a boring slog of "Ooo, look how naughty we're being!" dialogue and ham-fisted psycho-babble encased in a poorly-acted waste of time. You get a lot of that in 60s movies as film shakes off the shackles of the production code era for good.
A Gothic Triangle
What an unexpected, odd, treat. Films that travel undetected, spotted by accident - as it was in my case. I was reading about this startling Argentinean writer, Marco Denevi, when I discovered that one of his short stories had been adapted for the screen, directed by Joseph Losey of "The Servant" fame and with a cast to die for. Elizabeth Taylor as a prostitute that takes advantage of a peculiar girl, played with real zest by Mia Farrow who mistakes her for her mother, and Robert Mitchum, as the disruptor. This classy if bizarre production also includes Pamela Brown and Peggy Ashcroft in the cast. I enjoyed the weirdness thoroughly. It unsettled me and made me wonder how this film had been received in 1968. Apparently not very well. The one thing that made people talk about Secret Ceremony at the time was an infamous still with Elizabeth Taylor and Mia Farrow in a bathtub together. For lovers of the odd and unique this is a real treat.
- duffjerroldorg
- Apr 15, 2017
- Permalink
Vastly UNDERrated
- JasparLamarCrabb
- Aug 29, 2006
- Permalink
Shoulda stayed a secret
I love Elizabeth Taylor. Young, skinny, fat, old. I like every version through the ages.
But this is an unmitigated pile of pretentious garbage that eve she can't rescue.
Robert Mitchum surely was doing satire of himself.
And Mia Farrow, my goodness, she is terrible. She made one good movie her entire career - Rosemary's Baby - and everything else she was ever in she partly or entirely ruined.
I'm going to try to forget I ever heard of this movie.
- ArtVandelayImporterExporter
- Apr 20, 2018
- Permalink
Farrow and Taylor at their maddest, baddest and very best
I have liked this film since first seeing it upon its original release. It seems a little slow at times now and I'm really not sure I think very much of any of Robert Mitchum's, for me, lazy performance. In part, I feel this is not just his fault, as I understand that in the original story, some street kids (this was in Mexico) broke in and raped the Farrow character. So in the original her fear and excitement/obsession over sex is caused by this and not by any suggestion of impropriety on the part of Mitchum, playing her step-father. Seems to me this would have worked much better had the original scenario been retained. But never mind, we have what we have and we still have a most spooky and atmospheric movie, with Farrow and Taylor at their maddest, baddest and very best. Eerie location shooting in the art nouveaux decorated mansion and plenty happening to keep the hairs raised at the back of the neck. Unpredictable, worrying and well worth catching
- christopher-underwood
- Jul 5, 2009
- Permalink
Very cryptic film.
The idea (already described in other reviews) is both improbable and audacious, and the film is initially intriguing, but ultimately goes nowhere. There is a difference between not pandering to your audience and completely shutting it out, which is what director Losey has done here (especially regarding Mia Farrow's character and what she is all about). However, Robert Mitchum has a very challenging role - he plays a totally reprehensible character - and pulls it off beautifully. By the way, the previous reviewer is right on the money about the editing goof in the slapping scene; unacceptable for a director with such a big name. (**1/2)
A Symbiotic Need
Joseph Losey who had blacklist troubles in the USA, came over to the UK and did such great films as The Servant and King & Country. But he came up short with Secret Ceremony of which I still am trying to figure out just what was happening.
Elizabeth Taylor plays an aging prostitute for whom Mia Farrow gets fixated on, thinking Liz is her mother. Since Liz lost a child herself that works out well because the two at first fill a symbiotic need for family. And as Mia is one wealthy heiress Liz is thinking she's hit the jackpot.
There are some dissenters however. Two of whom are aunts Peggy Ashcroft and Pamela Brown. To them Taylor says she's the American cousin of Mia's mom. Then there is the sinister Robert Mitchum who replete with beard that makes him look like a leprechaun on weed, who is her estranged stepdad. He knows there ain't no American cousin. And Mitchum is a big part of the cause of Mia's psychosis.
According to Lee Server's fine book on Robert Mitchum, old rumple eyes got the part on the recommendation of Roddy McDowell to his friend Liz Taylor. It only involved a few scenes for Mitchum who sauntered through the part rather indifferently. Part of the reason he got it was Mitchum's uncanny ear for dialect and he goes in and out of an English accent which was proof positive of his indifference to the film. What he did enjoy was the company of Liz Taylor and her roistering husband Richard Burton. Those were two legendary drinkers, Mitchum and Burton and they really enjoyed night after night seeing who could drink who under.
Secret Ceremony will never rate on the top of any of the three main players film resume. Nor will director Joseph Losey be acclaimed for this one in the future.
Elizabeth Taylor plays an aging prostitute for whom Mia Farrow gets fixated on, thinking Liz is her mother. Since Liz lost a child herself that works out well because the two at first fill a symbiotic need for family. And as Mia is one wealthy heiress Liz is thinking she's hit the jackpot.
There are some dissenters however. Two of whom are aunts Peggy Ashcroft and Pamela Brown. To them Taylor says she's the American cousin of Mia's mom. Then there is the sinister Robert Mitchum who replete with beard that makes him look like a leprechaun on weed, who is her estranged stepdad. He knows there ain't no American cousin. And Mitchum is a big part of the cause of Mia's psychosis.
According to Lee Server's fine book on Robert Mitchum, old rumple eyes got the part on the recommendation of Roddy McDowell to his friend Liz Taylor. It only involved a few scenes for Mitchum who sauntered through the part rather indifferently. Part of the reason he got it was Mitchum's uncanny ear for dialect and he goes in and out of an English accent which was proof positive of his indifference to the film. What he did enjoy was the company of Liz Taylor and her roistering husband Richard Burton. Those were two legendary drinkers, Mitchum and Burton and they really enjoyed night after night seeing who could drink who under.
Secret Ceremony will never rate on the top of any of the three main players film resume. Nor will director Joseph Losey be acclaimed for this one in the future.
- bkoganbing
- Jun 20, 2011
- Permalink
Secret Ceremony: A First-Rate Psycho-Drama.
Joseph Losey's brilliant psychological drama follows the strange relationship between a prostitute(Elizabeth Taylor) and a waif-like girl(Mia Farrow) who resembles her deceased daughter. Taylor also bears an incredible likeness to Farrow's deceased mother, enabling the two women to create a world of their own where they can live as mother and daughter. Their secret world is disrupted, however, when Farrow's lecherous stepfather(Robert Mitchum) enters the scene. "Secret Ceremony" features expert performances from all, but it is Elizabeth Taylor who walks away with the honors, delivering a truly moving portrayal of an emotionally broken woman searching for some stability in her life. It's one of her most daring roles, and Miss Taylor handles it like the consummate actress that she is. The screenplay is by George Tabori, based on the prize-winning short story by Marco Denevi. (Universal later cut footage from the film and added extra scenes to make the picture acceptable for a television audience. Luckily, the video version is the original, uncut theatrical release).
Mother and daughter
could be more
On a London bus, Leonora Grabowski (Elizabeth Taylor) is approached by distressed Cenci Engelhard (Mia Farrow). Leonora is a prostitute still haunted by the death of her daughter five years ago. The two women strike up a friendship. Leonora sees similarities between Cenci and her daughter. Cenci claims to be her.
This starts with an intriguing premise. It's mostly these two women for the first half. It gets too slow and too repetitive. It's a good hour before Robert Mitchum shows up on screen. There is some interesting character work. Taylor and Farrow have some interesting moves. There are some disturbing possibilities. They don't take full advantage of the corrupt sexuality of the situation. The slow start and the missed opportunities hold this movie back from being something special. It's two hours long. It's spooky. It suggests something more, but it's not fully realized.
This starts with an intriguing premise. It's mostly these two women for the first half. It gets too slow and too repetitive. It's a good hour before Robert Mitchum shows up on screen. There is some interesting character work. Taylor and Farrow have some interesting moves. There are some disturbing possibilities. They don't take full advantage of the corrupt sexuality of the situation. The slow start and the missed opportunities hold this movie back from being something special. It's two hours long. It's spooky. It suggests something more, but it's not fully realized.
- SnoopyStyle
- Oct 25, 2022
- Permalink
Mitchum Liz and Mia
Elizabeth Taylor starred along with Mia Farrow and Robert Mitchum in this campy drama filmed in England in 1968. Liz is a lady of the night who meets an extremely strange young woman played by Mia Farrow. Mia's character believes that Liz is her recently deceased mother. "Mummy, Mummy" says Mia throughout this disturbing film. Mitchum shows up as Mia's step-father who had been tossed out of the big, beautiful manor house by mummy due to his unhealthy interest in his step-daughter. Mia speaks in a bizarre manner and Liz plays along in order to remain in her newly discovered lavish abode. Step-dad returns to get his grubby hands on the estate. If you are not in a good mood to begin with. I strongly suggest that you avoid this downer of a film at all costs.
No Good Can Come of This!
An aging prostitute who's lost a daughter and a rich, waif-like young woman who's lost a mother meet and bond. This is the premise for "Secret Ceremony". For my money a film had better have a pretty decent story to back up such an obvious conceit. As the cash-challenged Elizabeth Taylor character enters her surrogate daughter's gloomy mansion and spies the golden goose - and a particular fur coat - I wanted to scream, "Get out, you bonehead! Can't you see that no good can come of this?" But without boneheads poking around in places they don't belong there'd be no psycho-thrillers, would there?
The problem with "Secret Ceremony" is that there's only a little bit of this and a little bit of that. There's not enough suspense to conjure up a decent thriller and, in fact, precious little meat on the bone for a feature film, even one as morose and dreary as this. In one scene Mia Farrow writhes in solo sexual heat against the kitchen table, but that was merely embarrassing to watch. It's a clunker of a scene because - at least for me - the story just simply isn't engaging enough to support such indelicate goings-on. Late in the film Robert Mitchum sleep-walks his way onto the set. The British turned out a lot of these moody psycho-dramas, as I call them, in the 60's, and I'll mention a few really good ones: Jack Clayton's "Our Mother's House" and "The Innocents", Bryan Forbes' "Seance on a Wet Afternoon", Losey's own "The Servant" (a masterpiece with a disturbing ring of truth). Oh, and a little Hammer B-movie gem, "Die! Die! My Darling!", which is a delightful breath of foul air. There's nothing to say that a film can't offer a little insight and be entertaining at the same time.
The problem with "Secret Ceremony" is that there's only a little bit of this and a little bit of that. There's not enough suspense to conjure up a decent thriller and, in fact, precious little meat on the bone for a feature film, even one as morose and dreary as this. In one scene Mia Farrow writhes in solo sexual heat against the kitchen table, but that was merely embarrassing to watch. It's a clunker of a scene because - at least for me - the story just simply isn't engaging enough to support such indelicate goings-on. Late in the film Robert Mitchum sleep-walks his way onto the set. The British turned out a lot of these moody psycho-dramas, as I call them, in the 60's, and I'll mention a few really good ones: Jack Clayton's "Our Mother's House" and "The Innocents", Bryan Forbes' "Seance on a Wet Afternoon", Losey's own "The Servant" (a masterpiece with a disturbing ring of truth). Oh, and a little Hammer B-movie gem, "Die! Die! My Darling!", which is a delightful breath of foul air. There's nothing to say that a film can't offer a little insight and be entertaining at the same time.
- rpvanderlinden
- Nov 5, 2010
- Permalink
Creepier than a horror film
This movie is a tad pretentious and muddled, but it'll get under your skin. All the characters are either so deluded (crazy rich girl Mia Farrow), desperate (middle-aged hooker Liz Taylor) or demonic (scummy pedophile Robert Mitchum) that watching it is like spending two hours in a psych ward with no attendants on duty. Also gripping is the atmosphere created by director Joseph Losey, who was considered as a genius in the 60s and is pretty much forgotten today. With wide-angle shots and a minimum of noise, Losey reinforces his characters' isolation and solipsism by making London, one of the most crowded cities in the Western world, seem as empty and quiet as a tomb.
The plot is a psychological inversion of the classic haunted house story -- Liz and Mia take shelter from an outside world that threatens their relationship. And that relationship is, to put it mildly, weird. Mia lures Liz into her huge, empty home because she resembles her late mother. Liz indulges Mia's fantasy because as a homeless prostitute she's in need of shelter, plus, she lost a daughter who looked a lot like Mia. This arrangement could be sweet to the point of treacly if these two grown women didn't enjoy doing things like bathing together and discussing ex-lovers. And Mia has a particularly repulsive ex-lover in Mitchum, her former stepfather who started molesting the girl in her early teens. Though the experience clearly ripped Mia to shreds, the creep still has some power over her and the film becomes a battle of wills between Taylor and Mitchum. Along the way there's a fake pregnancy, a nightmarish seaside holiday and a visit to Mia's two horrid old-maid aunts. The movie isn't particularly pleasant or coherent, but it does pull off the impressive feat of telling its story the way its characters are experiencing it, and that's pretty damn disturbing when you're dealing with a bunch of warped people. See it, then watch a romantic comedy or something so you're able to sleep that night.
The plot is a psychological inversion of the classic haunted house story -- Liz and Mia take shelter from an outside world that threatens their relationship. And that relationship is, to put it mildly, weird. Mia lures Liz into her huge, empty home because she resembles her late mother. Liz indulges Mia's fantasy because as a homeless prostitute she's in need of shelter, plus, she lost a daughter who looked a lot like Mia. This arrangement could be sweet to the point of treacly if these two grown women didn't enjoy doing things like bathing together and discussing ex-lovers. And Mia has a particularly repulsive ex-lover in Mitchum, her former stepfather who started molesting the girl in her early teens. Though the experience clearly ripped Mia to shreds, the creep still has some power over her and the film becomes a battle of wills between Taylor and Mitchum. Along the way there's a fake pregnancy, a nightmarish seaside holiday and a visit to Mia's two horrid old-maid aunts. The movie isn't particularly pleasant or coherent, but it does pull off the impressive feat of telling its story the way its characters are experiencing it, and that's pretty damn disturbing when you're dealing with a bunch of warped people. See it, then watch a romantic comedy or something so you're able to sleep that night.
- Putzberger
- Oct 18, 2008
- Permalink
Tales of the Bizarre
Did they make it up as they went along?
Sorry folks. Just because a film doesn't make any sense doesn't make it cryptic. It makes it lousy.
God this was bad. In the first 15 minutes I told myself, "Liz is hungover and Mia is stoned." It would explain a lot.
This is like some amateurish art film. It is pointlessly disturbing. I gave it four stars for moderate camp value then deducted one star because if the monstrously ugly house it was filmed in.
The only parts I enjoyed were the two theiving aunts and Elizabeth Taylor's rare moment of self honesty. "I'm bloated! I'm retaining so much water!"
Like the TITANIC dear. Its the booze.
God this was bad. In the first 15 minutes I told myself, "Liz is hungover and Mia is stoned." It would explain a lot.
This is like some amateurish art film. It is pointlessly disturbing. I gave it four stars for moderate camp value then deducted one star because if the monstrously ugly house it was filmed in.
The only parts I enjoyed were the two theiving aunts and Elizabeth Taylor's rare moment of self honesty. "I'm bloated! I'm retaining so much water!"
Like the TITANIC dear. Its the booze.
This IS entertaining, more amusing than You'd think
Strange and upsetting
If this movie didn't come out the same year as Rosemary's Baby, I'd wonder what possessed anyone to make it. I'll chose to believe everyone wanted to help launch Mia Farrow's spooky movie by releasing a similar film at the same time. That's my standard for recommending this movie: if you actually liked Rosemary's Baby, rather than just appreciated it, then you can feel free to watch Secret Ceremony.
Elizabeth Taylor's daughter is dead, and Mia Farrow's mother is dead. Miraculously, Liz looks like Mia's mom, and Mia reminds Liz of her daughter. Somehow they find each other, bond quickly, and become enmeshed in each other's strange, sick lives. This is a very weird film, with unexplained plot points, melodramatic acting, and mentally-ill characters. Mia repeatedly reenacts a rape scene while she's alone. She calls Liz "Mom" and takes a bath with her, and the two girls giggle about what nuisances men and sex are. Robert Mitchum costars as Mia's stepfather, but unless he, too, wanted to support Rosemary's Baby, I don't know why he agreed to be a part of this movie.
This movie is so strange, awful, and convoluted, it makes the 1968 horror flick seem like a Mister Rogers' episode. If I'd cared enough about it, I would have been seriously disturbed, but thankfully, I didn't let the film get the better of me.
Kiddy warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to some very strange and upsetting content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
Elizabeth Taylor's daughter is dead, and Mia Farrow's mother is dead. Miraculously, Liz looks like Mia's mom, and Mia reminds Liz of her daughter. Somehow they find each other, bond quickly, and become enmeshed in each other's strange, sick lives. This is a very weird film, with unexplained plot points, melodramatic acting, and mentally-ill characters. Mia repeatedly reenacts a rape scene while she's alone. She calls Liz "Mom" and takes a bath with her, and the two girls giggle about what nuisances men and sex are. Robert Mitchum costars as Mia's stepfather, but unless he, too, wanted to support Rosemary's Baby, I don't know why he agreed to be a part of this movie.
This movie is so strange, awful, and convoluted, it makes the 1968 horror flick seem like a Mister Rogers' episode. If I'd cared enough about it, I would have been seriously disturbed, but thankfully, I didn't let the film get the better of me.
Kiddy warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to some very strange and upsetting content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
- HotToastyRag
- Sep 17, 2017
- Permalink
A ghost of a mother
I saw "the girl in the park" yesterday and although it featured Sigourney Weaver's moving performance ,I couldn't help but be struck by the similarities with Losey's forgotten movie: Sigourney Weaver was in search of a long lost daughter whereas Mia Farrow is in need of a mother.Farrow is impressive in her performance which was outstripped by the success of "Rosemary's baby" -in which she is terrific too-.As soon as we see her ,we feel how irrational she is.Her smiles,her gentleness ,her tenderness have something spooky.Ther's also an attic where the characters try to invent a brand new past for themselves.Liz Taylor and Robert Mitchum are as good as Farrow and the movie is one of Losey's sleepers,almost in the same league as his overlooked "Monsieur Klein" (another case of mistaken identity)
- dbdumonteil
- Nov 17, 2009
- Permalink